Charity yields its own rewards — especially when charity comes in the form of a 16-track compilation album with many of today’s favorite artists performing classic hits. Heroes, Vol. 1, an album whose profits will go to the organization War Child to help protect children who live in war zones, spins a new idea of cover songs. Here, the producers allowed musical originals, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, to handpick a current artist to cover one of their well-known hits.
With its original and imaginative mixes of classics, this eclectic album thrives. Heroes begins with a bang by Beck, who covers Bob Dylan’s “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat.” Beck successfully turns this tune into a guitar ballad reminiscent of ’70s rock ‘n’ roll.
The Ramones wisely gave “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, giving the song an entirely new edge while staying true to its original rock quality. Estelle’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Duffy’s twists of Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” flawlessly blend modern soul with aged favorites.
For a slow song, Elbow masterfully covers U2’s “Running To Stand Still” by singing solely with a piano, building to an encore and finally fading away. David Bowie’s “Heroes” turns modern with a brand new beat and flighty background additions courtesy of TV On the Radio. Lily Allen collaborates with Mick Jones on a bouncy, yet bitter, version of The Clash’s “Straight to Hell” in a style uniquely her own. Franz Ferdinand even performs Blondie’s “Call Me” live.
With this wide range of cover songs, the eclectic album will easily draw attention from anyone browsing the 30-second audio clips or the variety of artists listed. Every artist performing on the album strives to spin a new adaptation of a classic song with their unique style.
However, some artists picked a modern carbon copy to perform their own songs, making the covers mere repeats. The Kinks’ and the Kooks’ versions of “Victoria” sound nearly identical, making the song less of a cover and more of a repeat. Others fail to take advantage of the opportunity to create an imaginative cover. Hot Chips’ “Transmission,” originally by Joy Division, attempts to add steel drums and a funky beat, but falls short of making the song appealing enough to stand out in the album, much less the field of strong singles.
As a whole, Heroes plays more like an iPod on shuffle than a cohesive, themed album. Yet exactly because many of these songs would function well on the B-side of the artists’ latest albums might be why they make the album such an eclectically wonderful listen.
While the collaborative cover album has less cohesion than the average band’s typical album, this lack of cohesion takes little away from the imaginative and pleasing singles. In fact, the album could fit even better in today’s music industry, where singles gain more publicity and one only needs to focus on one genre before turning to another.
Overall, the album provides fans with original versions of their favorite songs by their favorite artists — sure to please many. If you need more incentive to buy a single or two, remember: It’s for the children.
4 1/2 stars out of 5.
